300: Rise Of An Empire: Release Date Delayed

300: Rise of an Empire will apparently have to wait a bit longer for its titular "rise." It seems that Warner Bros has decided to shift its position on the proverbial battlefield of movie seasons from its original close-arriving date of August 2, 2013 to a new place: March 7, 2014.

The 7+ month release delay bumps this sequel from its summer movie blockbuster status to a spring fling film, where its primary competition, much like the film itself, won't exactly have Spartans since it now faces the animated adaptation of Mr. Peabody & Sherman.(A take on the famous segment from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.) However, the shift by Warner will also see the studio's original occupant of the March 7, 2014 release in the Tom Cruise futuristic warfare film, All You Need is Kill get delayed, as well. However, in this case, it will only be for 3 months, as Kill's new release date is June 6, 2014.

Nevertheless, it seems that fans who were anxiously awaiting the next foray into the buff, bloody, ab-blasting, quasi-historical world of 300 will have to wait the better part of a year until that ticket gets punched. No official explanation was provided for the big shift, but one would have to imagine that production issues were to blame. With the old release date of August 2 looming less than 3 months away, we have yet to even see so much as a teaser trailer for the film. (And we thought The Wolverine was a procrastinator when it came to trailers.) Seeing as 300 was such a hit in 2007, it probably was a smart move not to jeopardize the franchise by rushing this epic production. The film will feature Sullivan Stapleton's Athenian general, Themistokles in a head-to-head military campaign taking place on the ground and the seas against Eva Green's shrewd and sexy Persian general, Artemisia.

300 Rise of an Empire takes a long raincheck for its plans to "dine in hell" when it hits theaters on the revised date of March 7, 2014.